Warriors hold off Grizzlies

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) celebrates the go-ahead basket with a three-pointer against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second half of a NBA game at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 28, 2014. Warriors won 100-93. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
(
RAY CHAVEZ
)

OAKLAND -- The Warriors were in a world of hurt, with a top defender sidelined and a deficit that was going to be difficult to overcome.

But after staging a late fourth-quarter comeback, the short-handed Warriors posted one of their best wins of the season, beating Memphis 100-93 on Friday to remain the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with 10 regular-season games left.

Stephen Curry poured in 33 points as the Warriors scored the game's final 14 and kept the Grizzlies from scoring in the final four minutes despite Andrew Bogut long having been knocked out of the game with a pelvic contusion.

"We'll never quit and understand we have the weapons to pack a heavy punch at any given time," Curry said.

Coach Mark Jackson demanded that Curry have the ball in crunchtime, and the star guard delivered with the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:21 left and a subsequent scoop shot to pad the lead. Memphis could not muster a response, missing its final seven shots.

Marreese Speights added 15 points and eight rebounds in his first start with the Warriors while replacing an injured David Lee (right hamstring strain). The Warriors were still able to grab a 43-33 rebounding edge without their top two rebounders for most of the game, pleasing Jackson with the way his team competed in difficult circumstances.

Bogut was injured after getting kneed and ran the court with an obvious limp before checking out of the game for good with 7:59 left in the first quarter. He did not return and was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Saturday, according to Jackson.

Advertisement

Jermaine O'Neal had 10 points and six rebounds in 34 hard-fought minutes. Also off the bench, Draymond Green had 12 points and nine rebounds, hitting two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and providing strong defense on Memphis leading scorer Zach Randolph.

"There's a guy that came into this league, and people probably said, 'Why is he shooting threes? He should stop shooting threes,' " Jackson said. "And he's winning ballgames with us, knocking down shots and making huge plays on the defensive end. The guy is a tremendous warrior."

The Warriors would have taken a tumble down the standings with a loss but instead kept pace with the rest of the Western Conference and remained 1½ games ahead of No. 7 seed Phoenix. The win also evened up the season series 2-2 with Memphis, which dropped to No. 8 with the loss.

"If there isn't any extra emotion, I question your ticker," Green said. "I question your heart. So where we stand right now, these games are crucial. So you'd better have some extra added emotion."

Mike Conley scored 10 straight Grizzlies points in the fourth quarter, and a Randolph layup gave Memphis a 93-86 lead with four minutes left. But the remainder of their possessions went to die as the Warriors' defense stiffened with even Curry coming through with a late blocked shot.

Curry scored eight straight Warriors points in the third quarter, tying the score at 68 with a finger roll. He later thrilled the Oracle Arena crowd by completing a 4-point play, hitting one from beyond the arc while being guarded by two defenders and fouled.

Curry slipped past two defenders for a layup to give the Warriors a 53-52 halftime lead, part of a hot shooting night that saw him go 13 for 22 from the field and 5 for 8 from beyond the arc.

He had eight assists, and Klay Thompson added 14 points and five assists.

The defense came through late despite Memphis shooting 50.6 percent for the game. Randolph led the Grizzlies with 21 points, and Conley scored 20 and Marc Gasol 17. Randolph and Gasol had seven rebounds apiece.

Andre Iguodala had five points, five rebounds and three assists in his return to the lineup after missing three games with right knee tendinitis.